"How do you even know it's Christmas?" Lance asked Pidge as he helped her wind some glowing alien rope (in lieu of tinsel) around a tall, vaguely cone-shaped alien plant (in lieu of a Christmas tree).

"I don't," she said. "But it feels like it could be. It's been roughly an Earth year since we got to space and it was January when we left.

Lance sighed. "I don't see the point of this. We're about as far from home as it's possible to be, and everyone back there probably thinks we're dead anyway."

Pidge looked up, a little hurt. "I may not have the exact date, but I'm close. It's definitely the holiday season Lance, which you used to love. I thought you'd be excited to tell Allura and Coran all about Christmas traditions."

"Yeah guess I'm just not in the spirit." He abandoned the makeshift tinsel and shuffled away, hands in his jacket pocket.

Allura watched the exchange from a distance, thoughtful.

"So it's a gift-giving tradition," asked Allura. Shiro was telling her about Christmas and the holiday season in general.

"That's a big part of it, sure, but it's just celebratory in general. It's a time to spend with family and revel in holiday cheer," he tried his best to explain.

"Oh." Allura's thoughts veered to her own lost family, and the new one she'd gained. "Well, let's try to make things as cheery as we can around here!"

Shiro smiled widely at her. "Pidge has been really creative with putting up decorations."

"She's being really brave," Allura pointed out. "It must be tough on her, still not knowing where her brother and father are, especially during this… holiday season."

Shiro nodded. "You're right. Lance has been really crabby too since Pidge decided to celebrate. I think he's really missing home."

"I've noticed Keith is not really that excited either."

Shiro sighed. "He doesn't really have a family, Princess. I'd imagine he's reminded of how lonely he usually is at this time of year, even if he isn't alone this time."

Allura clasped her hands together. "Let's see if we can't make them feel better."

"And what's this?" Allura picked up a bunch of twiggy little plants resting on the couch. Pidge and Hunk were rummaging for some tape, and looked at what Allura was holding.

Pidge answered. "Oh, that's mistletoe. Well I'm pretty sure it's not mistletoe, but it looks enough like it, so that's what we're going to use it as."

When she didn't immediately continue, Allura prompted. "Mistletoe?"

Hunk looked up again from the boxes he was searching. "A lot of folklore back on Earth talks about mistletoe having magical properties." He smiled. "But around Christmastime you're supposed to stick it on ceilings and stuff, and anyone who's caught standing under it has to kiss."

Allura's eyes took on a mischievous gleam. "Is that so? How… interesting!"

"Now if I could just find something for stockings," came Pidge's voice from inside a crate.

"Stockings are little bags shaped like socks," Hunk explained, for Allura's benefit. "You're supposed to hang them above the fireplace on Christmas eve, and then fill them with little gifts."

Allura found herself really warming to these Earthen traditions. She heard a squeak behind her and turned to see the mice playing with a bit of the mistletoe that had fallen to the ground. She smiled slyly as a plan started to whir into existence in her head.

Lance lay in his bed, knitting his third miniature santa hat. Just because he wasn't home didn't mean his space family would go without presents. Besides, he needed something to keep him from spiraling into sadness with thoughts of his family's first Christmas without him. He'd have made full size ones for everyone but he hadn't had enough time, with Pidge deciding tonight would be Christmas. Coran had given him a spool of thick thread resembling yarn, and he'd broken off a couple of twigs from a particularly smooth-wooded tree to use as needles. The yarn came in a variety of colors, which was great; but it was coarse and a little prickly to the touch.

His mind wandered as he worked. He felt guilty about snapping at Pidge earlier. He knew she was trying to keep up morale, but he couldn't not miss his mom's soft hugs, and her amazing Christmas dinner feasts, and his siblings' bickering, and the warmth of his home when they were all together. He sighed, and kept knitting, working in dashes of each paladin's color into their respective hats.

Elsewhere, on the training deck, Keith went through the motions of training sequence 5 with the droid. He vented his frustrations on the unfeeling robot with his bayard. Just when he'd thought he was getting better about his insecurities, Christmas came to hit him in the face, even millions of miles out in space. Between strikes of his sword, memories wormed their way in, of never having stayed with anyone long enough to feel like a family, of Christmases spent at the orphanage, and then at the Garrison while the other students went home for the holidays. He shook his head as if to scatter the memories, and renewed his attack on the robotic enemy before him.

"Kerrels?" Coran sounded out the word.

"No, carols!" Pidge practically shouted.

It was time for the Christmas dinner they had planned. Hunk and Coran had worked together to prepare a sumptuous feast, Shiro and Lance had wrapped presents and arranged them under the tree, and Pidge and Allura had decorated the quiznak out of the castle's interior.

"Yes, we'll get to the caroling," Shiro chuckled.

They all sat down to eat, and Allura took a moment to address the paladins. "I know it's your first Christmas away from home, and I just want to say that you all have been doing an incredible job. It's not easy being the defenders of the universe," she smiled. "And each of you has taken that responsibility to heart. Don't think for a moment that your sacrifice is unappreciated." She paused to look each of them in the eye. "I appreciate you. Each and every life we save from Zarkon's tyranny appreciates you."

"And Allura and I are really glad that we're able to celebrate your custom here in the Castle of Lions," added Coran. "May we all have a Mary Christmas—" Hunk poked him. "Right, sorry, Merry Christmas and a prosperous year ahead!"

Shiro acknowledged their remarks, and expressed his gratitude. Lance asked if they could eat now, and with a laugh Coran dug in first. Lance and Keith got into an argument over who could eat more, which turned into a full-fledged eating contest with Pidge and Hunk cheering for opposite teams and Shiro shaking his head wearily.

Allura decided it was time to put her plan into action. She closed her eyes and signaled the mice with her mind.

As it were, the mistletoe was taped in a couple of corners where no one was actually all that likely to wander. No one noticed when the mice snuck in and chewed off some of it.

The meal over, everyone had settled down on the floor in front of the couch, talking about everything and nothing. Hunk and Lance wanted to play charades but Pidge pointed out it wouldn't be fair to Allura and Coran, who wouldn't get any of the references.

"True," conceded Lance. "And neither will Keith," he turned his head to smirk at the boy seated beside him.

"I'm glad I don't know of the kinds of movies and music you're into," Keith shot back, tone entirely nonchalant.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Lance was getting bothered, despite having started this.

"The crappy kind," Keith elaborated, sounding out each word as if talking to a toddler.

Just as the banter was about to turn from playful to hostile, the mice scrambled up onto the couch. Standing on each other's shoulders to reach, they held up a tuft of mistletoe above the arguing boys' heads. Allura, eyes wide, stifled a giggle. Keith saw it first and immediately blushed scarlet. Pidge roared with laughter and Hunk's mouth formed an amused little o.

"What? What is it?" Then Lance saw it too. "What? What even…" He was staring at the mistletoe as if hoping (or afraid) it would disappear.

"Ooh doesn't that mean you have to kiss?" Allura's tone was a little too innocent. Luckily for her, her victims were too flustered to notice.

"I—"

"Well—"

"We don't—"

"It's not—"

"Earthen courtship rituals are rather interesting," mused Coran. Lance sputtered, and Keith's blush spread to his neck and the tips of his ears.

Allura looked from one boy to the other, confused. If what Hunk had explained was true, then what more could they need than a full on mistletoe to finally make a move? She was tired of months of watching them bicker and not realize their true feelings for each other, which were blindingly obvious to anyone in the same room as them. She understood humans to be somewhat primitive but mostly intelligent lifeforms. Was it just these two who were such big idiots? Or was it just in this particular matter that they were clueless?

"Go on," Pidge jeered. "Kiss already. Or are you scared, Lance?"

"I'm not scared! Are you?" he asked Keith.

"I'm not scared," Keith retorted too quickly, not nearly as nonchalant as he was during their usual banter.

"Fine!"

"Fine."

"Let's do this then."

"Let's."

"It's no big deal."

Finally, Lance leaned forward, eyes shut and lips puckered cartoonishly. Keith looked at him, unbelieving. What was his life? He bit his bottom lip, thought fuck it, and took Lance's face in both his hands to hold it in place. Then he closed the distance between them.

Keith's lips were soft and cool, but Lance felt heat emanating from where they met his own. His face tilted to the side and one arm came up around Keith's waist while the other cupped the back of his head, fingers burying into soft black hair. Lance felt the familiar warmth of Christmas well up in his chest; a decidedly festive feeling relaxed his body as he melted into the kiss.

With Lance's arms around him, Keith instinctively pressed himself closer, still anchoring himself to Lance's face with his hands. Lance tasted entirely new; he tasted of home.

When they broke apart it had only been a few seconds. But when they opened their eyes, they were dazed, seeing each other as if for the first time in years.

"Woo-hoo," cheered Pidge.

"I wonder what got into the mice all of a sudden," Shiro quipped.

Seven pairs of eyes followed the mice as they scurried out of the room, off to do whatever it was they did during their off-time.

"Why aren't they holding that over anyone else?" Hunk wondered out loud.

Before her treachery was discovered, Allura piped up, "So what about the presents? And Pidge weren't you saying something about carols?"

The party was over. Lance's hats and the few thoughtful gifts Shiro had managed to piece together had been appreciated by everyone. It was discovered that Pidge sang slightly off-key but with such conviction that she was pleasant to listen to. Hunk had an amazing baritone and could probably sing professionally if he wanted to. Keith was exceedingly shy but with enough encouragement he gained confidence and his voice was really very sweet. And Lance sang with such a complete lack of self-consciousness that he charmed your pants off. Then they'd all drunk themselves full of space juice and turned in for the night.

Allura now sat in front of her mirror, brushing her hair and venting to the mice. "So they've liked each other for ages, and we gave them a foolproof opportunity to kiss but that didn't work. Pidge provoked them into an argument and that worked? They kissed to prove to each other they weren't scared!" She got up and stretched before making her way to the bed. "Coran is right. Earthens don't make all that much sense, do they?"

One of the mice squeaked.

"It's only these two you think?" She chuckled, settling under the covers. "I hope you're right about that."